Bitcoin, which is currently trading at $76,318.88, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering significant selling pressure during the Asian morning session on Monday, thereby halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. As of Monday morning, Bitcoin had declined by 0.4% over the past 24 hours to $77,705, following a sharp reversal during the Asia session. This decline was accompanied by a 2.4% drop in Ether to $2,329, a 1.9% decline in Solana to $86, and a 1.2% decrease in BNB to $630. The rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 lost momentum by mid-morning Singapore time.
The initial surge was sparked by a report from Axios indicating that Iran had proposed a new initiative to the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear talks postponed until after the U.S.
naval blockade is lifted. Asian equities responded positively to the news, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing surging 6% to a new record.
Meanwhile, Brent crude pared its initial 2.5% gains to end up 1% at $106.50 per barrel. Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on trend but subsequently diverged.
According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the rejection at $79,399 can be attributed to the fact that $80,000 is a critical level where many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, historically leading to selling pressure as traders exit positions that were previously underwater. Despite this, Bitcoin has gained 16% in April, putting it on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025. Moreover, Strategy has purchased $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, the largest monthly accumulation in a year, according to Bloomberg. The funding rates on perpetual futures across major exchanges remain negative on a 7-day basis at -0.13% per Coinglass, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions.
This structural setup could lead to a squeeze if the spot price can hold above the $79,000 level, which has now been rejected three times. With the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank set to make policy decisions this week, and megacap tech earnings, including the four largest U.S. companies by market cap, either the Fed or a single earnings beat could provide the catalyst that the Bitcoin market has been lacking. Without such a catalyst, the third rejection from $79,000 in eight sessions may define the range rather than precede a breakout.